Overall direction has been held for years by Israel's Antiquities Authority.

Last month Israel's Antiquities Authority declared his box a forgery.

When artifacts are found, the Antiquities Authority has three basic options.

In this case, the Antiquities Authority has decided the site should not be destroyed, and it is trying to figure out how to proceed.

But this being Israel, the first reaction of the Antiquities Authority was to keep the discovery secret, which it succeeded in doing for two days.

The Antiquities Authority declared the ossuary a forgery last year.

The police have been investigating the case with the help of the Antiquities Authority, but no arrests have been made.

All excavations are conducted by the Antiquities Authority, or with their approval.

The Antiquities Authority replied that she was only trying to appropriate the site for herself.

In the most important of these, the Antiquities Authority said researchers "may use the material freely and quote limited portions therefrom."